Content

This unit focuses on the synthesis, interpretation and analysis of information in regards to environmental policy at all levels of government and other public or private organisations. The need for global co-operation and action in responding to environmental issues is becoming more important. Air quality, land management, resource use and water quality are some of the myriad of issues that can only be resolved with greater understanding of local issues to enable targeted responses at the global level. Due to lack of agreement in policy aims and specific objectives, it has been argued that the current approaches to environmental management have not been as effective in achieving desired environmental outcomes. Practitioners need to understand the process of policy development in order to fully realise the potential outcomes as well as to be able to input into the process to achieve sustainable outcomes. Policy objectives need to be fully cognisant of the environmental, political, economic and social influences that must be addressed if change is to occur.